Tennis News

MADRID, Spain – This morning the Mutua Madrid Open made history by setting a new Guinness World Record for the most people bouncing tennis balls on tennis racquets at the same time for ten seconds.

On a sunny morning in the Caja Mágica and with participation from a host of spectators, the Madrid tournament beat the record of 767 people set at the China Open last year.

In total, according to the official count from the assistant judges and the official Guinness World Record judge Anna Orford, the number achieved in Madrid was 1,474, giving the Mutua Madrid Open a new record.

WTA players in attendance included Alla Kudryavtseva, Vania King, Arantxa Parra Santonja, Anabel Medina Garrigues, and Olga Savchuk.

Stay tuned for the best photos and videos here on wtatennis.com!

It’s time to crown April’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!

The winner will be announced Friday, May 6.

How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.

MADRID, Spain – When Louisa Chirico’s plane landed in Madrid on Thursday, she and a slew of fellow players on her flight fired up their phones and waited for their roaming cell phone data plans to kick in. Just a few hours earlier Chirico hopped on a plane in Prague, where she lost in qualifying at the J&T Banka Prague Open a few days earlier, and flew to Madrid hoping that by the time she landed she would hear she whether she had actually got into the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I wasn’t originally inside the cut,” Chirico told WTA Insider. “We found out the day before I came here. I was entered in another tournament just in case and then switched our flight. I was three out of qualifying and then I moved in at the last minute. So very happy and lucky but trying to do my best to use the opportunity.”

Chirico was originally entered in another ITF tournament for this week, but as more withdrawals came in Madrid she soon saw herself very close to making the cut. After losing in the final round of qualifying in Prague, she and coach stayed there to practice and wait until it was time to head to their next tournament.

“I wasn’t planning on playing a match until Monday at the other tournament and then found out we might be in here and I had to play the next day on Friday,” Chirico said. “Obviously I want to play here, it’s the biggest tournament right now. That wasn’t a question. But the travel and everything, planning the weeks ahead can be difficult. Everyone has to go through it. You just have to make the adjustments and make the best of it.”

Chirico did make the best of it. Ranked No.133, the 19-year-old American beat Irina Falconi and Mariana Duque-Mariño without losing a set to qualify for her first Premier Mandatory event. Her successful qualifying campaign in Madrid continues what has been a strong run of form for the New York native.

Since the tour has turned to clay she made good on a wildcard into the Volvo Car Open to make the Round of 16, beating Lucie Safarova and Naomi Osaka en route. Then came a strong qualifying run in Stuttgart, where she qualified for the main draw with wins over Barbora Krejcikova, Daniela Hantuchova, and Camila Giorgi – again, without losing a set. Last year she won the USTA French Open wildcard play-off to earn her first Grand Slam main draw appearance.

Chirico’s comfort on clay stems from growing up playing on green clay. It’s not often you hear an American player say they wished the clay season was longer.

“Extending the clay season as much as possible? I’m all about it.”

“For me it’s always been natural to move [on clay] because I grew up playing most of the summers on green clay,” Chirico said. “So it didn’t even come into my mind until I came out here and noticed people didn’t really like playing on clay. I guess that gives me an advantage going in. I think it suits my game pretty well. Hopefully I can stay on the clay as long as possible, play as many matches on it as possible.

Get to know the 19-year-old from Westchester, New York. Just don’t call her Lil Weezy.

Q: So let’s back up. How did you first start playing tennis?
A: Actually I played a lot of sports when I was younger. I played soccer pretty seriously, I played basketball, a little bit of figure skating, and ice hockey. I was all over the place. I always loved playing sports. I was always running around and staying active.

My mom enrolled me in a clinic one day and from that moment I just loved it and decided to keep playing. I ended up choosing between tennis and soccer. Those were the two sports that I was most serious about.

Q: What position did you play in soccer?
A: Sweeper. Middle defender. I decided around 12 or 13 that I only wanted to play tennis. And the rest of it is history. I loved it right away.

Q: Speaking of those two sports, soccer is obviously a team sport and tennis is completely individual. Why choose tennis over being with a team?
A: I think the cool thing about tennis is that it is individual so it’s you out there. It’s solving the puzzle by yourself. Obviously you have your coach and your team at the side of the court but when you’re out there they can’t help you. It’s a battle against another persona and you’re countering their moves as well. You never know what is going to happen so it’s like boxing. I think that’s a really cool aspect and I enjoy that.

hello again red clay ? #favoriteseason pic.twitter.com/m9aPJYLEhv

— Louisa Chirico (@Louisa_Chirico) April 16, 2016

Q: So you chose tennis over soccer. At one point did you think you could actually play tennis for a living?
A: It was once I started playing some of the bigger events in juniors, going against the best juniors around my age at the ITFs or junior Slams. That’s when I realized maybe I can do this as a career and really pursue it. I really wanted to but I had to gauge where I was. I was in regular school so I was only playing in the US or locally so I had no idea. There are so many players in other countries.

So once I started playing at the highest level and I had some success in the lower level Futures and stuff, that opened my eyes a little bit and I thought I could do this as a career.

Q: You’re 19-years-old, traveling the world playing sports for a living. Your friends are probably all in college. When you talk to them, what’s the biggest misconception they have about your life?
A: Geez, I don’t know. I think the funniest thing I get is “So what do you do for food?” I’m like, well…I still eat regular food [laughs]. I guess with the diet and the sleeping everyone thinks we’re robots and on a schedule. Obviously we have to be professional and on a schedule. It’s funny to hear those questions.

All my friends are interested and they’re like have you played Serena or Sharapova yet? They don’t really get the tiers of the tour. So when I tell them I’m playing qualifying for a tournament they’re like, “So you’re playing a tournament to get into another tournament?”

But they’re all really supportive and I’m really lucky to have friends that are that supportive of me. I think it’s really important to have friends outside of tennis so you’re not always consumed with it. Sometimes you just need to relax and get a break. It’s nice to not talk about tennis 24/7. Because when we’re out here I do enjoy talking tennis. I think we all do. It’s what we do. We love it. But it’s nice to have a couple friends who don’t know anything about the game.

Q: So what do you do to get your mind off tennis?
A: I like to read. I like to sketch and draw a little bit. It’s the artistic outlet, I guess. I love music. You’ll always see me with my headphones in. I like to hang out with my friends. I like to keep it social.

Q: So what are you listening to these days? What’s on repeat?
A: I’m pretty into house music so I was really excited coming to Europe. I always leave Europe and I have a whole new playlist! Currently on repeat is the new Calvin Harris song that came out with Rihanna. It’s really good. I recommend you listen to it.

“Is it snow?” @goofa01 pic.twitter.com/5rTtvFR2BF

— Louisa Chirico (@Louisa_Chirico) April 30, 2016

Q: Alright, I’m going to fire off some quick-hit questions now.
A: Oh boy.

Q: Would you rather have a night out or an evening in?
A: Evening in.

Q: Extroverted or introverted?
A: Extroverted.

Q: TV or book?
A: TV.

Q: TV or movie?
A: Movie.

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A: I saw Concussion in the theater. It was really good. Interesting story.

Q: Twitter or Instagram?
A: Instagram.

How I feel when I see that @LamorneMorris followed me back!? ? #lifemade #winniethebish @NewGirlonFOX pic.twitter.com/3VgbxWrUsj

— Louisa Chirico (@Louisa_Chirico) February 26, 2016

Q: Would you rather swim in a pool or the ocean?
A: Ocean.

Q: Name three things you would take to a desert island?
A: My phone, a book, and a friend.

Q: If money were no object, what would you do all day?
A: Play tennis.

Q: Did you always want to be a professional tennis player?
A: When I was younger and I played soccer I wanted to be Mia Hamm.

Q: Do you have any nicknames?
A: Lou. My trainer calls me Lil Weezy. He’s the only person who can do that. I wouldn’t really respond to anyone else yelling that.

Q: I have this theory that everyone has an X-Men power. Something you naturally do better than anyone else that is your gift as well as your curse. What’s yours?
A: I always have energy. I don’t drink coffee, I don’t need caffeine. I always have energy and for what we do that’s an advantage. So…Energizer Bunny over here.

Q: What’s your favorite family tradition?
A: Christmas every year. I have a pretty big family. My dad’s side of the family all lives in New York. My mom’s side lives half in Korea and half in California. But my dad’s side is in New York and we all get together every Christmas. It’s the one time of the year everyone is together. It’s really nice. We go around the table and talk about what we’re thankful for. It keeps you grounded. It’s really special to me.

Q: Do you still sit at the kids table?
A: I am now old enough that I no longer have to sit at the kids table.

Sizzling forehand from @Louisa_Chirico #tennisgifs #VCO2016 pic.twitter.com/ctKob1hwRb

— Tennis Captions (@tenniscaptions) April 8, 2016

Q: How many languages do you speak?
A: Fluently? English. I took a little bit of Spanish. I took 3 years of Mandarin in school but I wouldn’t say I’m fluent.

Q: So you’re not Christina McHale (McHale speaks Mandarin)?
A: No, I’m not Christina. I didn’t go to Asia last year but this year hoping to so I’ll brush up on my Chinese.

Q: Do you speak Korean?
A: No, actually. Just hello and stuff.

Q: Do you have a Starbucks name?
A: I’ve given Rihanna. Because I just love her.

Q: She’s your girl?
A: She’s my girl.

Q: If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
A: Ellen Degeneres. I think she’s hilarious and I would love to be on her show.

Q: Well if you make a deep run at the US Open…
A: Exactly. That’s the goal, right? But I’ll settle for coffee with her.

Follow Louisa on Twitter @Louisa_Chirico!

Santina Feeling The Heat: Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza were largely in cruise control to start the 2016 season; winning four straight titles in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne at the Australian Open, and St. Petersburg, the most dominant team of the last five years rode a 41-match winning streak into the quarterfinals fo the Qatar Total Open, where they found themselves stunned by Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina in a match tie-break.

Since then, the pair hoping to capture a fourth straight Grand Slam tournament – a Santina Slam – at the French Open haven’t won a title since – their longest drought since last spring, when they went five tournaments without a win before capturing their first major title at Wimbledon.

Red clay was always going to be the toughest ask for the top ranked team on the Road to Singapore Standings, as it is the only surface on which the pair has yet to win – but the two came close just two weeks ago in Stuttgart – where they reached the final. In an ironic twist, they found themselves out-gutted by Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, a team undefeated on clay and riding their own winning streak with back-to-back titles at the Volvo Car Open and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

With a bye into the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open, Hingis and Mirza could soon face a rematch of the Australian Open final as No.6 seeds Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova, who won last week’s J&T Banka Prague Open title with Margarita Gasparyan.

The “Caroki” Streak?: Speaking of Garcia and Mladenovic, the team who paired up in January ahead of the Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro has won their last 10 matches – including a decisive Fed Cup rubber over the Netherlands and a first round win in Madrid over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and CoCo Vandeweghe. The young Frenchwomen started the year with two finals in Sydney and Dubai, but have gone from strength to strength since the tour turned to clay – not only taking out Santina in Stuttgart, but also reigning Miami Open and French Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova in the finals of Charleston.

In a two-part interview with The Tennis Island, the pair proved that they bring as much energy off the court as they do on, embracing the looming pressure of playing in front of their home crowd in Roland Garros and employing tactics they hope translate into their singles games. Up to No.4 on the Road to Singapore Standings and the No.5 seeds in Madrid, Garcia and Mladenovic next play Australian Open semifinalists Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai, who reached the second round when Laura Siegemund and Daria Kasatkina were forced to retire due to the former’s illness.

Bucie or Bust: The only player representing two teams on the Road to Singapore Standings, Mattek-Sands is playing some of the best doubles of her career, winning the Indian Wells/Miami “Sunshine Double” with two different partners in Vandeweghe (No.11) and regular partner, Lucie Safarova (No.8). With a run to the Charleston final under their belts, the American/Czech duo will make their red clay debut in Madrid as the former couldn’t play Stuttgart; she was a little busy, after all, helping to lead the United States to a stunning upset victory over Australia in Fed Cup.

With all the talk about Hingis and Mirza, it’s easy to forget that the first half of 2015 belonged to Team Bucie, who were half way to the Calendar Year Grand Slam following back-to-back major victories at the Australian Open and French Open. They went on to capture their last title of the season at the Rogers Cup in Toronto before injury and illness derailed Safarova’s season, ultimately falling in the round robin stage of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Semifinalists in Madrid one year ago, Mattek-Sands and Safarova earned the first of their two wins over Santina at the Caja Magica, repeating the feat a few weeks later in Paris en route to the title. The pair have a bye in the second round, but a recently reunited team looms in the quarterfinals…

Together Again: Ekaterina Makarova hadn’t played with Elena Vesnina since last summer, when a leg injury curtailed a season that had started so brightly for the Russian veterans. Leading 5-2 in the deciding set of the Wimbledon final, the 2013 French Open and 2014 US Open champions were not only a game away from denying Hingis and Mirza of their first Grand Slam title, but were also incredibly close to grabbing the third leg of a Career Grand Slam.

It was not to be, and as Hingis and Mirza went on their historic run through the rest of the season, Vesnina began to find success with young compatriot, Daria Kasatkina. With the fast-rising teenager, Vesnina got her revenge on Santina in Doha, ending their streak en route to the semifinals.

But as she told WTA Insider earlier this week, the plan was always to reunite with her partner of the last four years, especially with the Olympics in mind. In fact, Makarova and Vesnina played their first WTA tournament together here in Madrid four years ago, where they reached the final.  

Hometown Glory: Singapore finalists and Top 2 Spaniards Carla Suárez Navarro and Garbiñe Muguruza joined Garcia and Mladenovic in the second round with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Gabriela Dabrowski and Anastasia Rodionova, and both admitted to feeling relieved to be back on the doubles court for what is only their second tournament together in 2016.

“It’s true that sometimes when you play doubles, the nerves and the tension, you can share that with your partner and makes you play a little bit more solid and a little bit more freely,” Suárez Navarro said after her three-set win over Timea Babos on Sunday.

“I think yesterday we had a lot of fun on the court. I think the players we had, they were doubles players and they played a good match, an overall complete match. You had to stay focused. And not only that, I think that it’s of course a buildup for today’s match. You know how the court is laid out and you know how the people are going to be.”

Muguruza echoed her partner’s sentiment.

“I think that the doubles is the part that there are two people on the court and we help each other a lot. In the case of Carla and I, we know each other very well. Mutually we support ourselves and take the nerves off ourselves.”

#NationalHighFiveDay with @queen_v21 pic.twitter.com/BM2Zdeob1t

— Alla Kudryavtseva (@AllaK11) April 22, 2016

The Rivalry: In a season with few certainties, one thing has been all but guaranteed in 2016: a match between teams Alla Kudryavtseva and Vania King and Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova. The pairs have already met three times since the start of the season, with Pliskova and Goerges winning both of their hardcourt encounters at the Australian Open and Indian Wells – the latter after King and Kudryavtseva’s straight-sets win over Hingis and Mirza.

Faced with what Kudryavtseva has called their “kryptonite” for a third time in Charleston, the pair finally defeated the BNP Paribas Open finalists to reach the semifinals, and will have the chance to even the series this week in Madrid, as they are set to face off in the first round. For their part, King and Kudryavtseva have taken the serendipity in stride and enjoying a partnership that has already taken them up to No.9 on the Road to Singapore Standings.

“We’re texting each other every day, and we’re really cute!” the Russian told WTA Insider. “We’re always supporting each other and following each others’ live scores. It’s been a nice connection.”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.